


As I Lay Me Down To Sleep

by Francowitch



Series: Monster Sheithtober NSFW [8]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Afterlife, Angst with a Happy Ending, Grim Reapers, M/M, Old Age, Other, Self-Reflection, Suicide, i swear it will end happy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2021-01-15 22:04:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21260384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Francowitch/pseuds/Francowitch
Summary: The years have been long and not kind, Shiro was alone now, tired, and more than ready.While he had so many thoughts on what lay ahead, he was not expecting this.





	As I Lay Me Down To Sleep

**Author's Note:**

> okay okay I know dark... but this was for the prompt of Reaper for the Monster Shieth Month... and strangely... no fucking in this... 
> 
> Now i know the tags are scary, but i promise it isnt as dark as you might think...
> 
> Thank you to [Glimmerystarlight ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Glimmerystarlight) and [GeekMom ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GeekMom13) for looking this over, and encouraging me to continue on it...

#  As I Lay Me Down To Sleep

It was better this way, he thought as he lay with his life poured out in rivlets. Twin crimson rivers leaking into the warm bath water, no longer as fast as they first flowed. 

Shiro could feel his vision blurring, his thoughts fuzzy. The only thing that was good is that for the first time, the pain was gone. He wasn’t sore or fighting anymore battles. Now it was just time to float and allow things to take their course. 

Shiro isn’t sure when he closed his eyes, but when he opens them again there is a figure in front of him. The water no longer hot or even warm, Shiro splashed a bit of the stained liquid to the tile below as he tried to sit up.

“W-w-whos dat?” Shiro slurred his vision blurred in the dim light of his bathroom.

The figure moved closer, Shiro blinked slowly,  _ this was worse than the last time he got shit faced and had to be dragged home by an unwilling companion. _ Slowly the figures appearance changed from black blob to a hauntingly familiar face. 

“It worked,” Shiro gasped, “Keith, I was hoping to see you again… I’ve missed you so much…”

Keith smiled softly, “Hey there Takashi, how are you doing?”

A small sob escaped Shiro’s lips, “You aren’t really him, are you?”

The almost-Keith smiled sadly, “No, no I’m not.”

Shiro leaned his head against the cold porcelain of the tub with a sad sigh, “Of course you aren’t him. He is too pure to be here with me now, I don’t deserve to see him. I do appreciate it though.”

The not-Keith held out a hand to Shiro, “Take my hand, it’s time for us to go.”

“Don’t I get any last requests?” Shiro asked with a small hollow smile, he wanted to pretend for even a little while that this was  _ his _ Keith. 

Not-Keith cocked his head, “Did you have something that you needed to say or do?”

Shiro closed his eyes thinking back on things, how they were left. There really was nothing left for him there, there was no one who would be by, or that he needed to contact. No last good-byes or goals that were never met. When Shiro opened his eyes, Not-Keith had his hand out once more with a soft very Keith-like smile.

“Come,” he said, “it’s time.”

Shiro reached up touching Not-Keith’s finger tips, his body jolting as Shiro found himself standing naked and intact beside Not-Keith. Shiro looked down seeing his body, gone were the scars from battles, all the signs of the wars he had to partake in. He choked back a small sob when he saw that he was no longer missing one arm, that both were now back and age spots gone. He was also very naked, with a blush he looked up at Not-Keith with pleading eyes.

“Please don’t tell me I am stuck being naked for all eternity.”

Not-Keith chuckled, the sound was like that of rattling dry leaves blowing across pavement. Not-Keith led them out to the dark bedroom, “While I’m sure there are some who will complain, please get yourself an outfit, but don’t take long or move things around.”

Shiro looked from Not-Keith to his dresser, “I-is this allowed?”

Not-Keith shrugged, “If you don’t tell anyone…”

Shiro felt his lips turn upwards, that was very ‘Keith like’ of this creature, this reaper. As Shiro pulled out a white tee shirt, some boxers and a pair of sleep pants he looked back to not-Keith. “May I ask another question.”

Not-Keith bowed his head, “You may.”

“Why Keith? Why that face in particular?”

Not-Keith watched as Shiro slipped into his clothing. “We appear as the person most important to our charges, so as not to shock you at your final moments.”

“Are your natural forms so frightening?”

Not-Keith thought about it for a moment and shrugged, “No more than other humans are to yourself, I suppose. We just noticed that your kind would scream less when we changed our form to assimilate to your own, which meant less paperwork for us.”

Shiro nodded as he tightened the drawstring on his pants. 

“Why did you choose that outfit in particular?” Not-Keith asked his eyes narrowed in confusion, “It seems like an odd choice for your final outfit.”

Shiro looked down at himself, it was a normal thing for when he would be home alone. But this was his final look, the clothing he was in for the rest of eternity. 

Shiro chuckled, “Honestly, this is the only shirt that I have that I can wear with two arms. All of my other ones are capped off to accommodate my prosthetic, which I don’t seem to have anymore. And as for the pants, these are the only ones which fit me as I am right now.”

Not-Keith gazed back to where Shiro’s corporeal form was laying, aged and certainly different than the one in front of him now. “So I see, humans are so fragile.”

Shiro shifted where he stood, uncertain of what they needed to do now. “What happens now?”

“To you or...” Not-Keith glanced towards the bathroom causing Shiro to flinch.

“Both I guess.”

“The night nurse will find it,” Not-Keith said with a detached voice, “and you will come with me.”

“Will it hurt?”

Not-Keith smiled, “No. Are you ready?”

Shiro too a deep breath then nodded.

Not-Keith turned to the door, in his hands were a set of iron keys. Shiro watched as not-Keith turned one of the keys in the door, he felt the prickle of electricity that danced along his skin. The door opened to not the familiar constantly lit hallways of the nursing home but something different. 

Not-Keith stepped aside to allow Shiro a glimpse, “This is where you go, just step through the door.”

Shiro licked his lips nervously, “You promise this won’t hurt?”

Not-Keith said nothing in response, his violet eyes watching and waiting. 

“Didn’t you say you would come with me?”

“Yes and no,” Not-Keith replied, “but this choice is yours alone.”

Shiro took a deep breath, bowing his head to Not-Keith, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Not-Keith looked surprised, “would you mind one question before you go?”

Shiro nodded, “Of course.”

“How did you know I wasn’t Keith?”

Shiro chuckled, “You called me Takashi, Keith calls me Shiro.”

Not-Keith shook his head, “It’s all about the details. I will have to check the notes, I was sure that he called you that.”

“No,” Shiro sighed, “I am sad to say we never got that close.”

Not-Keith cocked his head, “Thank you.”

“Thank you,” Shiro responded, “may I see what you look like normally?”

“Only if you promise to walk through the portal.”

Shiro chuckled one more, “I promise.”

Not-Keith shrugged, the glamour or magic, whatever it was melted from his face. No longer did Shiro see the face of the young man he loved, in its place was bleached bone. Shiro didn’t flinch, or even cringe. The skeleton grin that looked back at him, with hollow black sockets for eyes, was more comforting as it was an image like the movies and illustrations which he had seen all of his time alive. Who knew that the depictions were so accurate from the minds of artists and writers.

“You are not surprised then?” 

Shiro shrugged his hand touching the frame of the door, “You look like all the drawings in old illustrations.”

“Interesting. Thank you then Takashi Shirogane.”

“Thank you,” Shiro bowed his head once more then steeled himself as he walked out into the bright light. 

* * *

It took a moment for his eyes to adjust, the white light shifting to yellows and oranges before showing a familiar scene. The desert, he was back in Arizona. The red-orange peaks of the mesas decorating the scenery. Shiro scanned the horizon and gasped as he noticed a familiar location. 

Shiro turned around, neither reaper nor door were anywhere in sight.  _ How? He didn’t deserve this. _

“Shiro?”

A familiar voice called out, just as Shiro last remembered. Calling for him. Shiro felt his heart shatter and his breath left his lungs as he saw the familiar form of Keith stepping out from the old storm door of the desert shack.

Shiro took off in a sprint, his eyes locked on the finish line, crashing into Keith and pulling him into a tight embrace. They kissed for what felt like an eternity, Shiro wrapped both arms around Keith’s slender form, pulling him in tight. 

When they pulled apart Keith’s eyes danced, “Hey there.”

“Sorry I took so long,” Shiro replied drinking in every inch of what he saw and held, as though it would all disappear in an instant. 

“A wise man once told me, patience yields focus.”

Shiro snorted, “That person was an idiot.”

Keith laughed in response, “Well I happen to love that idiot.”

“Good,” Shiro kissed Keith gently, “I missed you so much. It was so hard after…”

“I know,” Keith said softly, “but you are here now, and I am so proud of you for continuing on. You did good.”

“But at the end,” Shiro reflected back, “I couldn’t anymore…”

“Hush,” Keith soothed, “it’s okay now, you are here, and you never have to leave unless you want to.”

“Never.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for sticking through to the end! i hope you enjoyed!
> 
> Comments always answered and kudos are always appreciated... 
> 
> You can find me on Twitter for more fics and chatter! My asks/DMs are always open!  
[@francowitch ](https://twitter.com/francowitch)  



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